Hackney Archives holds the archives and local history collections of the London Borough of Hackney. Alongside the records of the local authority, the archive collection holds records of local businesses, clubs, societies, religious organisations, families and individuals. It holds a number of historic Jewish collections that evidence the contributions of the Jewish residents to the fabric of Hackney.

Archive Description

Collections of Jewish interest include: Deeds evidencing the consistent presence of Jewish residents of Hackney, including of the Da Costa and Rothschild families; the papers of Jewish Councillors and Mayors of Hackney and predecessors including of Sir Louis and Lady Sherman, Councilor John Stanton JP and Sam Cohen; material from Jewish societies including minute books and membership records of The Workers Circle Friendly Society and printed material of the Lubavitch Foundation; Jewish family collections including chemist and local historian Israel Renson, and the Kinn family who were members of the Hasidic Jewish community in Stamford Hill; Council records include information about the administration of specialist services and funds for the Orthodox Jewish Community; and the records of Hackney Downs School, once described as the ‘Jewish Eton’ by the Jewish Chronicle, including editions of the school magazine, clubs and administrative records.

The local history library located on-site includes reading on Jewish communities in the East End as well as a wide ranging collection of pamphlets.

Access Information

The archive is open to members of the public, weekly Wednesday to Friday. Access requires one form of photographic ID and one proof of address. Enquiries can be made to archives@hackney.gov.uk

Digital Accessibility

An archive catalogue can be found online. The archive’s image database – searchable through the catalogue – has a collection of photographs of the area, including shop fronts of Jewish businesses and religious buildings. The images are free to browse but the archive charges for non-watermarked copies. They are looking to expand their digital offering with digitised documents but this is not currently available.

Street Address

Dalston CLR James Library, Dalston Square
Dalston, London
E8 3BQ